War Not A Solution To Indo-Pak Problems, Says Pakistan Envoy Abdul Basit

New Delhi: War is not a solution to problems between India and Pakistan and only "foolish" people would consider such an option, Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit said today, two days after Pakistani nuclear scientist AQ Khan said his country has the capability to hit New Delhi in five minutes.

Mr Basit also said that Pakistan wants to resolve all issues with India through talks and that the two neighbours must have "result oriented" engagement.

"War is not a solution between both (India-Pak) countries. Only foolish people would consider war as a solution to the problems," Mr Basit said during an interactive programme.

Addressing a gathering on the 18th anniversary of Pakistan's first nuclear test, Mr Khan on Saturday had said in Islamabad that his country has the ability to "target" the Indian capital in five minutes.

Reacting to Mr Khan's comments, a number of strategic affairs experts had said India has the capability to hit entire Pakistan but nuclear weapons were not weapons of war but only meant for deterrence.

Talking about overall Indo-Pak ties, Mr Basit said, "We hope that the dialogue process will resume, because all our issues can be resolved through talks.

"Five months have passed after the Pathankot attack but the dialogue process between India and Pakistan has not resumed."

On the probe into the Pathankot attack, the Pakistani envoy said his government is extending cooperation to India in investigation of the attack.

"We're maintaining cooperation on Pathankot. Let's hope we'll be able to get to the bottom of that incident," he added.

Stressing on the need for better relations between India and Pakistan, Mr Basit said the two countries must focus on improving trade relations. He said Pakistan is grappling with series of challenges and is trying its best to combat them.

He said greater flow of trade between the two countries will bring overall prosperity to the region.